Subsequent Service Life Extension
2025-2027
The Paks Nuclear Power Plant is a key component of the Hungarian electricity system, with electricity generation constituting as its primary function. The NPP, operated by MVM Paks Nuclear Power Plant Ltd., consists of four VVER-440/V-213 reactor units commissioned between 1982 and 1987. The current nominal electrical output of Paks NPP is 2,026.6 MW, the plant plays a pivotal role in Hungarian electricity generation, accounting for more than 40% of the total production.
In line with international trends, MVM Paks Nuclear Power Plant Ltd. began examining the possibility of extending the originally designed 30-year operating lifetime of the plant in the early 2000s. Based on the favourable results of detailed feasibility studies, a decision was made in 2003 to implement the first 20-year service life extension of the plant.
MVM Paks Nuclear Power Plant Ltd. obtained the environmental license required for operating the units for an additional 20 years beyond their originally designed 30-year operating lifetime through a decision issued by the environmental authority in October 2006. The currently valid environmental license was issued on a unit-by-unit basis, with validity expiring between 2032 and 2037.
Already in 2013, during the implementation of the first service life extension project, the plant's specialists considered the possibility of a further extension beyond the 50-year (30+20 years) operating lifetime. Within the framework of MVM Paks Nuclear Power Plant Ltd.'s corporate strategy, a more detailed assessment was launched in 2019, after that legal, technical, and economic feasibility analyses were completed in 2020.
Although the economic and climate policy benefits of a Subsequent Service Life Extension were already evident, in addition at that time several countries were also considering extending the operating lifetimes of their NPPs from 60 to 80 years and even from 80 to 100 years, the decision to launch the project was made later.
The preparation period for a NPP service life extension project typically approaches ten years. Considering that Unit 1 will reach the end of its currently licensed operating lifetime in 2032, the Government of Hungary decided in the summer of 2022 to initiate preparations for the Subsequent Service Life Extension of Paks NPP. In September 2022, MVM Paks Nuclear Power Plant Ltd. established the Subsequent Service Life Extension Priority Project. Preparatory activities undertaken within the project include the performance of an environmental impact assessment and the completion of the environmental licensing procedure.
MVM Paks Nuclear Power Plant Ltd. initiated a preliminary consultation procedure in September 2024 by submitting the Preliminary Consultation Document to the Baranya County Government Office, acting as the competent environmental authority. In accordance with the content requirements specified by the environmental authority in its opinion concluding the preliminary consultation procedure and the applicable legal requirements, the Environmental Impact Assessment Report was prepared which forms the basis of the environmental licensing. MVM Paks Nuclear Power Plant Ltd. submitted its environmental license application to the Baranya County Government Office on 2nd of October 2026.